SC missed crucial chance to test federalism in Article 370 case: Salman Khurshid

New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid said the Supreme Court missed a crucial chance to examine federalism in its "extreme form" in the Article 370 case after accepting the government's assurance on restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's full statehood.

Speaking at the launch of two books by journalist-writer Bashir Assad, "Kashmir: The Unfiltered Truth" and "House Without Witness", on Monday, Khurshid argued that while the Constitution speaks of fraternity, equality and liberty, federalism has not always received the attention it deserves in judicial interpretation.

"Federalism is something we perhaps lost out on when there was a chance for the SC to take up what was a true test case of federalism... There was a crucial moment when an Article 370 matter came before the SC to examine federalism in its extreme form.

"However, on the government's assurance, conveyed by the Attorney General, that Jammu and Kashmir's full statehood would be restored swiftly, the court felt that it need not go into the idea and trouble the world with its examination of federalism," said Khurshid.

On December 11, 2023, the SC unanimously upheld the revocation of Article 370, which accorded a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, even as it ordered that its statehood be restored "at the earliest".

The former minister of external affairs said federalism, in simple terms, can be described as "unity in diversity", and argued that India's strength lies in its different languages, cultures and ways of life, bound together by shared values.

While disagreeing with the view that uniformity is essential for national strength, the 73-year-old acknowledged that such opinions could not be dismissed outright, as a diversity of views and a respectful exchange of ideas are integral to India's democratic ethos.

"Because we would be untrue to ourselves if we did not accept someone expressing what we might not agree with, which is another idea -- a different idea.

"Therefore, a diversity of ideas and the exchange of ideas are important to us, and we must engage with such expressions of our nationhood with respect and understanding," he explained.

Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Sinha, among the speakers at the book launch, praised the book and its author for presenting "unfiltered thought", and said it is high time the Kashmiris are heard, noting that those in power have nearly normalised speaking at rather than talking to them.

He also spoke about the tendency to romanticise Kashmir as a territory, while overlooking Kashmiris themselves as part of our nation.

"After reading this book and many others on Kashmir, written by some of our finest minds, we often choose to ignore -- or become oblivious to -- what it truly means to go through those pages. Kashmiris experience pain, agonies, and suffering, but they also hold on to hope.

"Agony might make us uncomfortable, but we should be comfortable with hope," he concluded.